BOX SCORE
BRIDGEWATER, VA - The Hampden-Sydney College tennis team played their best match to date as they defeated the Bridgewater College Eagles 9-0 in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) match from Bridgewater, VA, on Friday afternoon.
All three of the doubles teams were in sync as the Tigers won each match easily. The #2 team of Shad Harrell (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) and Kevin Calhoun (Richmond, VA/Mills Godwin) continued to show they are top #2 doubles team in the ODAC with an 8-3 win, pushing their record to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the ODAC. The #1 and #3 doubles teams increased their level of play to new heights, however. Rich Pugh (Augusta, GA/Lakeside) and Tal Covington (Gainesville, VA/Flint Hill) dispatched Brad DeWitt and Teddy Callow 8-4 at the #1 spot. Zack Pack (Keysville, VA/Randolph-Henry) and Ian Sammler (Prince George, VA/Prince George) took down Tim Gower and Matthew Chaulkin by an impressive 8-1 margin.
The strong play continued through singles play. Pugh defeated Peter Hawkins 6-1, 6-3 at #1, as Pugh once again used his consistency and overall well play wore down his opponent. Pugh is now 5-0 overall with a 4-0 ODAC mark. Harrell, playing as the #2, also won 6-1, 6-3 by winning baseline duels and his transition game to finish off points at the net.
Calhoun earned the win in straight sets at #3 over Brent Floyd, but it took a tiebreaker for him to win the first set, but he eventually took the victory 7-6 (8-6), 6-4. Calhoun was very consistent throughout the match, but he also played intelligently by adapting his strategy to find and take advantage of Floyd's weaknesses. Covington, who lost to Teddy Callow a season ago, avenged the loss by a score of 7-5, 7-5. Callow showed a strong all-court game, but Tal was able to find passing shots and relied on his ground strokes to earn a win in a highly competitive match.
Pack breezed to a #5 singles victory over Tim Gower, 6-1, 6-2. Pack maintained his high energy level from the big doubles win and used well-placed serves and consistent ground strokes to earn the victory. Sammler, along with his doubles match, showed a great deal of progress and had his best outing of the season. Sammler hustled throughout the match as he ran down everything to get the 6-1, 6-2 win. He did much of his damage on angled ground strokes to move his opponents out of position.
The Tigers host Methodist University on Sunday at 10 am and Guilford on Monday at 3 p.m. Please note the time for the Guilford game has been moved from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. to accommodate academics.
